1 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

Joseph Elias joseph.j.elias@gmail.com 27th of May, 2010

The Phoenician Alphabet eassesse! in "ight of its #escen!ant $c%ipts an! the "ang&age of the Mo!e%n "ebanese

2 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

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Abstract
The contempo%a%y beliefs %ega%!ing the Phoenician alphabet a%e %e5ie6e! an! challenge!, in light of the cha%acte%istics fo&n! in the ancient alphabets of Phoenicia7s neighbo&%s an! the lang&age of the mo!e%n "ebanese.

3 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

Introduction
The Phoenician alphabet, as it is &n!e%stoo! to!ay, is a 22 lette% abja! 6ith a one8to8one lette% to phoneme %elationship 9see Table 1:.1 1%e!ite! fo% being the 6o%l!7s fi%st alphabet an! mothe% of all mo!e%n alphabets, it is belie5e! to ha5e been inspi%e! by the ol!e% hie%oglyphics system of nea%by Egypt an!;o% the syllaba%ies of 1yp%&s, 1%ete, an!;o% the ,yblos syllaba%y 8 to 6hich the Phoenician alphabet appea%s to be a g%aphical s&bset of.2 <
Table 1: The contempo%a%y !eciphe%ment of the Phoenician alphabet.

Letter Name Glyph Phonetic Val e !in IPA" aleph beth gamil daleth he waw zayin heth teth yodh kaph lamedh mem nun samekh ayin pe tsade oph resh shin tau a b g d h w z H T y k l m n Z o p S q r s t [] [b] [g] [d] [h] [w] [z] [] [t] [j] [k] [l] [m] [n] [s] [] [p] [s] [q] [r] [] [t]
. !"1#!"3.

1 F. Coulmas, The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems, Blackwell Publishers Ltd, Oxford, 1999, 2 $. Fischer, A History of Writing, %eaktio& Books Ltd, Lo&do&, 2""3, . 121#122. 3 '. (um hre), Ancient Technology, *ree&wood Publishi&+ *rou , ,est ort, 2""-, ..-.

! The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

#espite being s&ccessf&lly !eciphe%e! since the eighteenth cent&%y =A.#.>, minimal effo%ts ha5e been ma!e to e?plo%e the moti5ation behin! @ey cha%acte%istics of the sc%iptA 8 mainly4 its appa%ent 5o6el less nat&%e, the %eason behin! employing 22 lette%s an! finally, a tho%o&gh analysis of the lette%s an! thei% application in %ep%esenting the 5ocal lang&age of the Phoenicians.

Motivation
1ontempo%a%y tho&ght claims the Phoenician alphabet e?hibite! 22 lette%s simply beca&se the Phoenician lang&age &tilise! no mo%e than 22 phonemes. )n this 6ay, one Phoenician lette% co%%espon!e! to one phoneme fo&n! in the Phoenician lang&age. #espite the%e being no soli! p%oof of the Phoenician lang&age only &tilising 22 phonemes, this a%g&ment also appea%s to o5e%loo@ the significance of n&me%ology in ancient, no%th $emitic an! neighbo&%ing c&lt&%es. Mo%e specifically, the n&mbe% 22 is the la%gest an! a%g&ably the most po6e%f&l of a special set of n&mbe%s @no6n as the Maste% +&mbe%s. B T6enty T6o, fo% many n&me%ologists, is a symbol of4 p%agmaticality;economy, lea!e%ship, s&ccess, an! !isciplineC 8 cha%acte%istics 6hich can easily be associate! 6ith the alphabet 6hen compa%e! to the less efficient pictog%aphic an! syllabic metho!s of 6%iting. The Phoenician alphabet, the%efo%e, co&l! ha5e been p&%posely !esigne! to &tilise 22 lette%s so as to e?p%ess the belief in the significance of the n&mbe% 22 in Phoenician c&lt&%e. The same a%g&ment might also apply to Phoenicia7s neighbo&%s 6ho also maintaine! a 22 lette% alphabet afte% the Phoenicians, s&ch as the4 'eb%e6s, Assy%ians, +abataeans, Pa%thians an! the ancient 3%ee@s of 1%ete 9see Appen!i? A:.7 D E The significance of the n&mbe% 22 in ancient, no%th $emitic c&lt&%e is f&%the% emphasise! by the 22 line insc%iption fo&n! on the Phoenician sa%cophag&s of .ing Eshm&naFa% )) 9see 2ig&%e 1: 6hich 6o&l! ha5e &n!o&bte!ly been p%ecisely !esigne! gi5en the fo%me% stat&s of the %esting bo!y insi!e.10 2&%the% still, the boo@ of e5elations =also @no6n as Apocalypse> is comp%ise! of 22 chapte%s 6hich 6o&l! appea% as no coinci!ence gi5en the =s&ppose!> c%yptic nat&%e of this boo@.11 )t is the%efo%e, no acci!ent that the alphabet of the Phoenicians an! othe% nea%by c&lt&%es e?hibite! 22 lette%s.12 /tilising 22 lette%s 6o&l! ha5e been the Phoenician in5ento%7s 6ay of e?p%essing his;he% spi%it&al beliefs in light of his;he% c%eation 8 the fi%st alphabet.1<

! 3 2 . 9 1"

%. (et/ro&, The Semitic Languages, 0' 1&ter&atio&al Ltd, Cor&wall, 1992, . 123. 4. Oke&, Numerology Demystified, 0he Crossi&+ Freedom Press, Califor&ia, 199-, . 1". i id., . 33#32. (um hre), op! cit., ..-. 4. *aur, Literacy and the "olitics of Writing, 1&tellect Books, Ore+o&, 2""3, . -9#22. %. ,oodard, #reek Writing from $nossos to Homer, Oxford 5&i6ersit) Press, 7ew 8ork, 1992, . 1!1. *. %awli&so&, 9Cha ter :111 ; Phoe&icia& ,riti&+, La&+ua+e a&d Literature9 i& History of "hoenicia, <arch 2""-, 1&ter&et, htt =>>www.+ute&ber+.or+>files>2331>2331#h>2331#h.htm?2(C(""13, @13 <a) 2"1"A. 11 '. Bell, $. Cam bell, The %omplete &diots #uide to the Book of 'e(elations, Pe&+ui& *rou 1&c, 5$4, 2""2, .1.9. 12 $ee %awli&so&, for more exam les of Phoe&icia& artifacts which exhibit the &umber twe&t)#two. 13 1t mi+ht Bust be a coi&cide&ce but Leba&o&9s da) of i&de e&de&ce is celebrated o& the 22&d da) of the 11th mo&th @i.e. 7o6ember 22A. 0he &umber ele6e&, to &umerolo+ists, is the <aster 7umber which recedes twe&t)#two a&d is ar+uabl) seco&d i& +reat&ess ; after twe&t)#two. 4lso, the ori+i&al co&stitutio& of Leba&o& reCuired its +o6er&me&t to be com rised of six Christia& to fi6e <uslim de uties. 0hus, the total &umber of de uties i& the @oldA Leba&ese +o6er&me&t was alwa)s a multi le of ele6e&. $ee= 0. Collelo, 9,orld ,ar 11 a&d 1&de e&de&ce9 i& Le anon) A %ountry Study, 19.2, 1&ter&et, htt =>>cou&tr)studies.us>leba&o&>21.htm, @19 <a) 2"1"A.

3 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

$a%cophage !7Eshmo&naFa% )), G /+E$1(,

http:##portal$ ne%co$or&#ci#en#e'$php( )RL*ID+1,-.-/)RL*D0+D0*T0PIC/)RL*SECTI0N+121$html

3i& re 1: The sa%cophag&s of .ing Eshm&naFa% )), feat&%es a t6enty8t6o line insc%iption.

1onfining the Phoenician alphabet to 22 lette%s opens the possibility of the in5ento% choosing to sac%ifice alphabetic i!eality fo% spi%it&al e?p%ession.1A Th&s, the simple an! Hi!ealI metho! of %ep%esenting one phoneme 6ith one lette% co&l! ha5e been p&%posely %ejecte! fo% a system 6he%e lette%s co&l! e?hibit a !&al o% g%eate% polytypical nat&%e 8 in the same 6ay the lette% HcI in English, can %ep%esent =in )PA 9see Appen!i? ,:>4 [k] in HcatI o%

[s] in HcityI o% [] in HoceanI o% [t] in HcelloI. P%o5ing s&ch phonetic ambig&ity among the Phoenician lette%s 6hen %ep%esenting the Phoenician 5e%nac&la%, ho6e5e%, 6o&l! %eJ&i%e access to the 5ocal Phoenician lang&age 8 6hich is ass&me!ly e?tinct. 1B #espite this appa%ently fo%gotten info%mation, the%e may still be some c%e!it in compa%ing sc%ipte!
1! L. *re&oble, L. ,hale), Sa(ing Languages) An &ntroduction to Language 'e(itali*ation, Cambrid+e 5&i6ersit) Press, 7ew 8ork, 2""-, . 13.. 13 (et/ro&, op! cit., . 12!.

- The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

Phoenician 6ith the 5e%nac&la% of the Ma%onite 5illages fo&n! high in the "ebanon mo&ntain %ange. The moti5ation behin! this compa%ison is !%a6n f%om the @no6n a!amants po%t%aye! by these mo&ntain Phoenicians 6ho 6e%e among the last in the oman Empi%e to gi5e &p thei% b%an! of paganism an! a!opt 1h%istianity. 1C 17 2&%the%, once ma!e membe%s of the &ni5e%sal ch&%ch, this comm&nity %ef&se! to confo%m to the i!eologies of the 1h%istian (%tho!o? ch&%ches 8 e5en afte% the late% ha! become the spi%it&al stat&s J&o in the mi!!le east.1D 'isto%y has also sho6n that, as time p%og%esse!, not e5en the %ife s6o%!s of the 5a%io&s conJ&e%ing )slamic empi%es co&l! pe%t&%b the faith of the Ma%onites of the "ebanon1E 8 not e5en afte% they 6e%e s&%%o&n!e! an! then c&t off f%om the %est of the 6o%l!.20 )nte%estingly, as 6ell, afte% being %e&nite! 6ith ome !&%ing the 'igh Mi!!le Ages, it 6as fo&n! that the Ma%onites 8 &nli@e thei% othe% easte%n 1atholic co&nte%pa%ts 8 ha! not fallen into he%esy b&t ha! obse%5e! all aspects of thei% faith j&st as they !i! befo%e being sepa%ate! f%om ome.21 2inally, "ebanon7s last official cens&s =con!&cte! in 1E<2> %e5eale! that the Ma%onite comm&nity la%gely o&tn&mbe%e! all othe% %eligio&s comm&nities in the ne6ly fo%me! nation of "ebanon.22 2< This obse%5e! ine?o%ability, the%efo%e, s&ggests that the Ma%onite comm&nity of the "ebanon mo&ntains may be hol!ing on to mo%e than j&st thei% ancient faith 8 6hethe% they a%e a6a%e o% not. 'ence, the%efo%e, the 5e%nac&la% of the Ma%onites of the "ebanon mo&ntains 6ill be %ega%!e! as being closest to the 5e%nac&la% of the Phoenicians an! 6ill th&s, be compa%e! to sc%ipte! Phoenician so as to !ete%mine 6hich lette%s of the Phoenician alphabet may ha5e e?hibite! phonetic ambig&ity.2A

Hypothesis
The =5ocal> Phoenician lang&age feat&%e! mo%e than 22 phonemes, !espite the Phoenician alphabet feat&%ing only 22 lette%s. )n this 6ay, Phoenician 6o&l! ha5e been sc%ipte! mo%e li@e mo!e%n English 8 6hich feat&%es mo%e than 2C phonemes !espite its 2C lette% = omanise!> alphabet.2B

Observation and Analysis

1ompa%ing sc%ipte! Phoenician 6ith the 5e%nac&la% of the Ma%onites of the "ebanon mo&ntain %ange yiel!e! se5e%al inte%esting patte%ns 6hich a%e s&mma%ise!, as follo6s4 9+.,. The follo6ing compa%isons 6e%e ma!e by s&%5eying "ebanese Ma%onites f%om the "ebanon an! then compa%ing thei% %esponses 6ith the Phoenician 6o%! list gi5en by
1- D74 a&al)sis, s o&sored b) 7atio&al *eo+ra hic, has re6ealed the maBorit) of moder& Leba&ese are desce&da&ts of the Phoe&icia&s. $ee= %. *ore, 9,ho ,ere the Phoe&icia&sE9 i& National #eographic, October 2""!, 1&ter&et, htt =>> &+m.&atio&al+eo+ra hic.com>features>world>asia>leba&o&> hoe&icia&s#text>1, @13 <a) 2"1"A. 12 %awli&so&, op! cit., 9Cha ter :1F ; Political (istor), .. Phoe&icia 5&der the %oma&s @B.C. -3 ; 4.D. -3"A9. 1. '. <ahfou/, Short History of the +aronite %hurch, 1<P. $t Paul, 'ou&ieh, 19.-, . 23. 19 Prior to ,orld ,ar 1, Gthe Leba&o&H referred to the auto&omous Leba&o& <ou&tai&s which were redomi&a&tl) i&habited b) <aro&ites a&d to a lesser exte&t, Dru/es. 0his defi&itio& is sli+htl) differe&t to moder& da) GLeba&o&H which com rises of the Leba&o& <ou&tai&s as well as the BeCaa Falle) a&d the adBace&t Le6a&ti&e coast. $ee D. 5rCuhart, The Le anon) A History and a Diary, 0homas Cautle) 7ewb), Lo&do&, 1.-". 2" i id., . 9". 21 i id., . .3. 22 9Leba&o&9 i& ,!S! Department of State - Diplomacy in Action, 1&ter&et, htt =>>www.state.+o6>+>drl>rls>irf>2""1>3-13.htm, @1! <a) 2"1"A. 23 I. $alibi, 9Leba&o&9 i& Encyclopedia &nternational, *rolier 1&cor orated, 7ew 8ork, 1921, . !!". 2! 0he eo le a&d therefore, the dialects of the Leba&ese coast are likel) to exhibit more forei+& eleme&ts due to their +reater i&teractio& with forei+&ers. (e&ce, coastal dialects will be a6oided i& this com ariso&. 23 4. Baker, Ship or Sheep, Cambrid+e 5&i6ersit) Press,<elbour&e, 2""-, . iii.

2 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

a6linson an! the online Phoenician !ictiona%y fo&n! at4 666.canaanite.o%g.: 2C 27 2D !Phoenician" like #ebrew and Arabic" is read from right to left$% The follo6ing %es&lts a%e p%esente! in the fo%mat4 KHEnglishI L [Lebanese Maronite pronunciation in !"] L %cripte4 PhoenicianM. 1. letter 1, aleph =a>, gene%ally appea%s in place of any 5o6el, o% a 5o6el p%ece!e! o% p%ocee!e! 6ith eithe% anothe% 5o6el o% a glottal stop =[]> o% a semi85o6el, e.g. Hhea!I 8 [r#$s] 8 sar, H%eJ&estI 8 [s%&'l] 8 las, HoneI 8 [we)&'d] 8 dHa 2. letter 1, beth =b>, appea%s in the place of the phoneme [b], e.g. HblessI 8 [be)&r'k] 8 krb <. letter 5, gamil =g>, appea%s in the place of the phoneme [*], e.g. HfeeI 8 [($*&redt] 8 trga A. letter ., daleth =d>, appea%s in the place of the phoneme [d] , e.g. Hbloo!I 8 [d%m] 8 md B. letter 6, he =h>, appea%s in the place of the phoneme [h], e.g. Hhe%eI 8 [h($n] 8 nh C. letter ,, waw =w>, appea%s in the place of the phonemes4 [w], [+] , e.g. Hinsi!eI 8 [*o+&we)] 8 wg, Han!I 8 [+] 8 w

Hea%thN g%o&n!I 8 [($&red] 8 Sra,

7. letter 7, zayin =z>, appea%s in the place of the phonemes4 [z], [d], e.g. Hfa%mI 8 [m%z&re)] 8 orzm, Hsac%ificeI cf. Hsla&ghte% 9an animal:I 8 [d($&b'] 8 Hbz D. letter 8, heth =H>, appea%s in the place of the phonemes4 [], [,], e.g. HgoI 8 [r+] 8 Hr, H@itchenI 8 [m%dt&be),] 8 HbTm
2- *. %awli&so&, 9Cha ter :111 ; Phoe&icia& ,riti&+, La&+ua+e a&d Literature9 i& History of "hoenicia, Lo&+ma&s, *ree&, a&d Co, Lo&do&, 1..9, . 3."#3.!. 22 <. Iassab, 9O&li&e Phoe&icia& Dictio&ar)9 i& %anaanite!org, October 2""9, 1&ter&et, htt =>>ca&aa&ite.or+>dictio&ar)> i&dex. h , @1! <a) 2"1"A. 2. 7ote, the &ames of the Phoe&icia& letters are based o& the educated +uesses of 0heodore 7Jldeke. $ee= <. K6erso&, The .inal "roposal for Encoding the "hoenician Script in the ,%S, <a) 2""!, 1&ter&et, htt =>>std.dkuu+.dk>Btc1>sc2> w+2>docs>&22!-. df, @19 <a) 2"1"A.

. The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

E. letter -, teth =T>, appea%s in the place of the so&n! [dt] , e.g. HbellyI 8 [b%dt&dten] 8 nTb 10. letter 12, yodh =y>, appea%s in the place of the so&n!s4 [j], [')], e.g. H!ayI 8 [j%m] 8 my, Hhan!I 8 [')d] 8 dy 11. letter 11, kaph =k>, appea%s in the place of the phoneme [k] , e.g. He5e%y, allI 8 [k'-l] 8 lk

12. letter 11, lamedh =l>, appea%s in the place of the phoneme [l], e.g. H!ogI 8 [k($&l'-b] 8 blk

1<. letter 15, mem =m>, appea%s in the place of the phonemes4 [m], [n] , e.g. H@ingI 8 [m($&l'k] 8 klm, Hfo%tyI 8 [)r&b'n] 8 mobra 1A. letter 1., nun =n>, appea%s in the place of the phoneme [n], e.g. Hgoo!I 8 ['-m&n'] 8 Hnm 1B. letter 16, samekh =Z>, appea%s in the place of the phonemes4 [s], [z] , e.g. HfeelI 8 ['-s] 8 ZH, Hmemo%yN %emembe%I 8 [z)&k'r] 8 rkZ 1C. letter 1,, ayin =o>, appea%s in the place of the phonemes4 [], [.], e.g. HeyeI 8 [/n] 8 no, H!i%tN !&stI 8 [.%&b'-r] 8 rpo 17. letter 17, pe =p>, appea%s in the place of the phonemes4 [b], [0] , e.g. HmosJ&itoI 8 [b($&r'-.&)] 8 sorp, HopenI 8 [0($&dt'] 8 Htp

1D. letter 18, tsade =S>, appea%s in the place of the phonemes4 [s], [d] , e.g. HonionI 8 [b%s&s#$l] 8 lSb, Hbac@I 8 [d($&h'-r] 8 rhS 1E. letter 1-, oph =q>, appea%s in the place of the phoneme [], e.g. Hb&%yN g%a5eI 8 [($&b'-r] 8 rbq

9 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

20. letter 12, resh =r>, appea%s in the place of the phonemes4 [r], [l], e.g. HcattleI 8 [b%&#$r] 8 rqb, H%ootI 8 ['-&l'-] 8 srs

21. letter 11, shin =s>, appea%s in the place of the phonemes4 [s], [], an! the so&n! [dt], e.g. Hhea%, listenI 8 [sme)] 8 oms, Hs&nI 8 [($&m'-s] 8 sms, Hth%eeI 8 [dtle)&dt)] 8 sls 22. letter 11, tau =t>, appea%s in the place of the so&n!s4 [dt], [ndt], e.g. H!ie!I 8 [me)dt] 8 tm, H!a&ghte%I 8 [b'-ndt] 8 tb 2<. no lette%, this typically occ&%s 6hen an initial o% final 5o6el is p%ono&nce! b&t is not sc%ipte!, e.g. Hhea%tI 8 [($&l'-b] 8 bl, H)N meI 8 [)&ne)] 8 na

These %es&lts a%e s&mma%ise! in Table 2.

1" The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

Table 1: A s&mma%y of the !eciphe%ment obtaine! by compa%ing sc%ipte! Phoenician 6ith the 5e%nac&la% of the Ma%onites, li5ing in the "ebanon Mo&ntains.

Letter Name Glyph Phonetic Val e !in IPA" aleph beth gamil daleth he waw zayin heth teth yodh kaph lamedh mem nun samekh ayin pe tsade oph resh shin tau
O an! possibly [g] 5 6he%e [b] is p%obably A%abise! [p]. Also, [2] might ha5e also been %ep%esente! by p 9see Appen!i? #:.

a b g d h w z H T y k l m n Z o p S q r s t

"n1 2owel or combination o0 2owel and another 2owel or glottal stop3

[b] [*] [d] [h] [w], [+] [z], [d] [], [,] [dt] [j], [')] [k]4 [l] [m], [n] [n] [s], [z] [], [.] [b]5, [0] [s], [d] [] [r], [l] [s], [], [dt] [dt], [ndt]

These results were used to make the following analysis. "ette%s4 2, <, A, B, E, 11,12, an! 1A = beth, gamil, daleth, he, teth, kaph, lamedh, an! nun, %especti5ely>, appea% in the same place as thei% phonetic eJ&al in spo@en "ebanese 8 if

11 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

one consi!e%s the t%a!itional !eciphe%ment of the Phoenician alphabet. 2E The %emaining cha%acte%s also gi5e c%e!it to the t%a!itional !eciphe%ment, ho6e5e%, the obse%5e! patte%ns =abo5e> s&ggest a slightly mo%e sophisticate! lette% to phoneme %elationship. These appa%ent %elationships 6ill be a!!%esse! in the follo6ing pa%ag%aphs. 2i%stly, the !&plicity e?hibite! by cha%acte%s4 D, 1C, an! 1D =heth, ayin, tsade, %especti5ely> can be cla%ifie! by ta@ing a close% loo@ at the A%abic alphabet L belie5e! to be the s&ccesso% of the Phoenician alphabet 5ia A%amaic an! +abataean inte%me!ia%ies. Th&s, a compa%ison bet6een heth =H> an! its A%abic eJ&i5alent, &a' =9>, sho6 that both lette%s stan! in the place of the phoneme []. 'o6e5e%, by simply a!!ing a !iac%itic =i'(am> to the &a', the %es&ltant lette% 8 )a' =:> 8 becomes a %ep%esentati5e of the phoneme [,]. Th&s, by igno%ing the a!!itional !iac%itic, it becomes clea% that the lette% fo%m H 9I stan!s as a %ep%esentati5e fo% eithe% [] o% [,]. This obse%5ation in A%abic is analogo&s to the compa%ison =abo5e> bet6een sc%ipte! Phoenician an! the "ebanese 5e%nac&la% an! th&s, s&ggests that heth =H> al6ays !i! %ep%esent both [] an! [,] it is j&st that the Phoenicians p%efe%%e! not to &se !iac%itics L j&st li@e HgI in English HgateI = [g]> o% Hgene%alI coinci!ental fo% it to simply appea% as a &a' =9> 6ith a !iac%itic =:>. $&%ely, the%e m&st be some moti5ation behin! this con5ention an! base! on the lin@ bet6een spo@en "ebanese an! sc%ipte! Phoenician, it !oes seem 5e%y li@ely that the A%abs ha! al6ays @no6n abo&t the phonetic !&plicity of heth =o% at least its +abataean !escen!ant> b&t finally !eci!e! to !isting&ish bet6een its t6o phonemes by &tilising a !iac%itic. The%efo%e, it is 5e%y possible that heth al6ays !i! %ep%esent the t6o phonemes [] an! [,]. The same a%g&ments can =[d*]>. 2&%the%, of all the possible !esigns )a' =:> co&l! ha5e ta@en, it seems mo%e than

also be applie! to the Phoenician lette% ayin =o> %ep%esenting [] an! [.] in the same 6ay that a!!ing a !iac%itic to A%abic ayin =;> [] ca&ses it to become ghayn =<> [.] 6hilst Phoenician tsade =S> can be [s] o% [d] j&st li@e ho6 A%abic tsade ==> [s] becomes d'ad [d] once a !iac%itic is a!!e! =>>. )n light of this s&specte! !&plicity, it is 6o%th noting that !iac%itic8less A%abic te?t has been fo&n! sc%ipte! along the 6alls of a%chaic mo&ntain !6ellings 6ithin the "ebanon 9see 2ig&%e 2:.<0 $&ch obse%5ations s&ggest the e?istence of an e%a in 6hich A%abic lette%s e?hibite! phonetic ambig&ity an! th&s, s&ggest that phonetic ambig&ity may ha5e been inhe%ite! f%om ancest%al sc%ipts. The !isappea%ance of s&ch ambig&ities 6o&l! ha5e e5ent&ate! f%om the a!!ition of consonantal !iac%itics.<1
29 Letter 11, kaph, ma) ha6e also stood for the ho&eme L+M. 0his su++estio& is moti6ated b) the Leba&ese word for GhookahH ro&ou&ced [)r&g'&l($] a&d s elt @i& 4rabic lettersA , a&d the Leba&ese word for GmarblesH @the to)A which is ro&ou&ced [g'-l&l($] a&d is s elt @i& 4rabic lettersA . 5si&+ the 4rabic kaph to re rese&t L+M is &ot t) ical i& other &atio&s arou&d the <iddle Kast. 1& K+) t, for exam le, L+M is t) icall) re rese&ted b) the 4rabic letter /im @A whereas i& 1raC, the letter 0of @A is used. $ee= D. Cowa&, +odern Literary Ara ic, Cambrid+e 5&i6ersit) Press, <elbour&e, 192., . 3#!. 3" *. (a)ek, The 1adisha 2alley .rom the Depths!!! to the "eaks, 4&&ahar Publishi&+ (ouse, 2""., . .3. 31 0he a eara&ce of earl) 4rabic text i& the Leba&o& does &ot ser6e as sufficie&t roof of the Leba&ese s eaki&+ 4rabic. $uch a& ar+ume&t would be as &aN6e as sa)i&+ GOttoma& 0urks s oke 4rabic because it was their official scri t u&like moder& 0urks, who s eak a dialect of Lati& because &ow the) use a %oma&ised al habet.H 4&) al habet ca& be used to record a&) la&+ua+e so lo&+ as co&6e&tio&s a&d>or sta&dardisatio&s9 are realised.

12 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

3. 'aye@, The *adisha +alley ,rom the Depths$$$ to the Peaks, Annaha% P&blishing 'o&se, 200D, p. D<.

3i& re 1: A%abic te?t bea%ing minimal o% no !iac%itics. This specimen 6as fo&n! in a ca5e !6elling in the Pa!isha *alley, "ebanon.

1ha%acte% 21, shin =s>, e?hibits t%iplicity s&ch that it appea%s in place of the phonemes [s], [], an! =appa%ently fo% the ca%!inal n&mbe%s> [dt]. "i@e the p%e5io&sly !esc%ibe! cha%acte%s, it appea%s logical eno&gh fo% A%abic to ha5e inhe%ite! the ambig&ity bet6een [s] an! [] f%om the Phoenician shin.<2 #iac%itics a%e again, ho6e5e%, employe! in A%abic to !isting&ish bet6een the phonemes [s] an! []. The mo!e%n A%abic alphabet also opens the possibility that, the Phoenician shin co&l! ha5e also %ep%esente! [dt] by implicitly sho6ing that t6o lette%s ha5e been omitte! f%om the mo!e%n A%abic alphabet 8 bet6een sin =?> an! shin =@>. To elabo%ate, A%abic sin pec&lia%ly p%og%esses to shin by the s&!!en a!!ition of th%ee !iac%itics. This is in cont%ast to the %est of the A%abic alphabet 6he%e p%og%essions to the ne?t lette% a%e gene%ally ma!e by the a!!ition of one !iac%itic =at a time> 9see 2ig&%e <:. Th&s, it is possible that one of the lette%s omitte! bet6een A%abic7s sin an! shin co&l! ha5e stoo! fo% [dt] an! this co&l! ha5e been inhe%ite! f%om Phoenician =5ia 'eb%e6 an!;o% +abataean> b&t then e5ent&ally omitte! pe%haps !&e to the application of the A%abic lette% ta' =A> 6ith othe% A%abic g%ammatical con5entions.<< )t may seem st%ange at fi%st, fo% the
32 0his articular ambi+uit) ma) be the reaso& wh), the word GtreeH is t) icall) ro&ou&ced [s)*&r#$] i& the <aro&ite i& ro&u&ciatio& was the moti6atio& for re rese&ti&+ [s] a&d [] with the same letter. 33 4&other i&teresti&+ a&d ossibl) related com ariso& betwee& the 6ocabular) of the Leba&ese 6er&acular a&d moder& literar) 4rabic is that, the letter tha3 @ ho&eticall) [6]A is &e6er ro&ou&ced [6] but i&stead, [s] or [dt]. 4lso, i& the Leba&ese 4rabic al habet, tha3 is actuall) &amed GseaH a&d re rese&ts the ho&eme [s] # b) default. 6illa+es of the mou&tai&s but the& ro&ou&ced [)*&r($] i& a&d arou&d Beirut. 4lter&ati6el), erha s this differe&ce

13 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

Phoenicians to %ep%esent [dt] 6ith shin 6hen cha%acte% 22 =tau> appa%ently al%ea!y !i! the same job. 'o6e5e%, if one consi!e%s the g%ammatical st%&ct&%e of sc%ipte! Phoenician an! then of spo@en "ebanese =if "ebanese can be &se! as a !ecent s&bstit&te fo% Phoenician>, one 6ill %ealise the eme%gence of 5e%y ambig&o&s homog%aphs. As an e?ample, the n&mbe% Hth%eeI in "ebanese, is =mo%e o% less> p%ono&nce! [dtle)&dt)] 6hilst Hone thi%!I is

=mo%e o% less> p%ono&nce! [dt'-&l'-dt]. )f one is to %ep%esent both these n&mbe%s by typically sc%ipting only consonants, as is !one in Phoenician, then the %es&lt fo% both n&mbe%s 6ill be =in oman> H!tl!tI. (b5io&sly, s&ch an ambig&ity bet6een Hth%eeI an! Ha thi%!I co&l! ha5e catast%ophic %es&lts in fiel!s 6hich %ely hea5ily on n&mbe%s, s&ch as enginee%ing. Th&s, a con5ention 6o&l! ha5e been necessa%y to a5oi! s&ch homog%aphs, hence, the application of shin fo% [dt] 6hen 6%iting the ca%!inal n&mbe%s 6hilst =p%obably> %ese%5ing lette% 22 =tau> fo% the f%actional eJ&i5alents. The%efo%e, the employment of shin to also %ep%esent [dt] may ha5e been seen as the sol&tion to a5oi!ing ce%tain homog%aphs.<A

3i& re 5: "ette%s =in %e!> 6hich appea% to be missing f%om the Mo!e%n $tan!a%! A%abic alphabet.

The !&plicity %ega%!ing lette%s C an! 10 =waw an! yodh, %especti5ely>, appea%s to be analogo&s to the A%abic waw =B> an! ya' =C>, %especti5ely. Th&s, it is 5e%y easy to a%g&e
3! 4lthou+h it seems that this o&l) a lies to the cardi&al &umbers, it mi+ht also be a licable to other cases a&d ma) thus ex lai& wh) some Leba&ese toda) sa) [s'-dt&dt)M for G+ra&d motherH whilst others sa) [dte' &dte)M.

1! The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

that the A%ab eJ&i5alents inhe%ite! thei% !&plicity f%om thei% Phoenician ancesto% 6hose waw also %ep%esente! the phonemes [w] an! [+] 6hilst yodh also %ep%esente! the phonemes [j] an! [')]. "ette% 1, aleph, appea%s as4 a 5o6el, o% a 5o6el combine! 6ith anothe% 5o6el o% semi8 5o6el o% a glottal stop. This is cont%a%y to pop&la% belief 6hich s&ggests the aleph stoo! only fo% a glottal stop. To j&stify the obse%5ations ma!e, one nee!s to only listen to spo@en "ebanese to %ealise the e?act p%on&nciation of ce%tain 6o%!s !epen!s on ho6 the 6o%! is &se!. The 6o%! HeatI, fo% e?ample, is spelt lka in Phoenician b&t is typically p%ono&nce! =in "ebanese> [je)&k#$l] in [b'&je)&k#$l] 8 Hhe eatsI 8 b&t is then p%ono&nce! [e)&k#$l] in ['-b&e)&k#$l] 8 H) eatI. The change f%om the thi%! pe%son to the fi%st pe%son, the%efo%e, has lea! to a slight change in p%on&nciation 8 a change &n!o&bte!ly notice! by the c%eato% of the alphabet 6ho 6o&l! ha5e th&s, incl&!e! aleph so as to stan! fo% all the 5a%io&s p%on&nciations of a gi5en 5o6el f%om a pa%tic&la% 6o%!. Aleph, the%efo%e, may ha5e o%iginally stoo! fo% 5o6els 6hose p%on&nciation 6as infl&ence! by g%ammatical facto%s s&ch as the pe%son. )n f&%the% opposition to pop&la% tho&ght, it 6o&l! seem sensible to s&ggest the aleph 6o&l! ha5e o%iginally so&n!e! 5e%y m&ch o% the same as 6hat 6o&l! become the 3%ee@ alpha =Q, R> 8 that is, a 5o6el. 2&%the%, if one consi!e%s the A%abic %en!ition of the "ebanese 5e%nac&la%s, alif = , aleph's A%ab eJ&i5alent> se%5es as a 5o6el an! only acts as a 5o6el an! glottal stop 6hen 6%itten 6ith a hamza = > abo5e = > o% belo6 it = >.<B The a!!ition of the hamza in A%abic, the%efo%e, may ha5e been !e5ise! so as to !isting&ish 6hethe% alif sho&l! be %ea! as a 5o6el o% a glottal stop an! 5o6el. Th&s, it may be fai% to a%g&e that the aleph =a> al6ays !i! %ep%esent 5o6els in gene%al. "ette% 7, zayin, appea%s in place of the phoneme [z] =as pop&la% tho&ght s&ggests> b&t also fo% the phoneme [d]. The late% case may seem %athe% st%ange, especially since the lette% daleth =d> al%ea!y appea%s to a!eJ&ately se%5e the phoneme [d]. 'o6e5e%, those 6ho a%e familia% 6ith spo@en "ebanese to!ay an! Mo!e%n $tan!a%! A%abic =M$A> might ha5e also notice! that the%e !oes appea% to be some inte%esting e?changes bet6een eJ&i5alent 6o%!s 6ith [d] an! [z] an! thei% emphatic 5e%sions. 2o% e?ample, the 5e%b HcleanI is p%ono&nce! [n($&d'0] in "ebanese b&t is p%ono&nce! [n/&zi$0] =HIJK> in M$A 6hilst the no&n Hbac@I is p%ono&nce! [d($&h'-r] in "ebanese b&t [z/&hr] =LMN> in M$A.<C )t might be possible that the A%abs o% those befo%e them, too@ the Phoenician 6o%!s b&t chose to p%ono&nce them by consi!e%ing only one possible p%on&nciation. )f zayin =z> !i! in fact, %ep%esent both [z] an! [d], one may 6on!e% 6hat moti5ation co&l! be behin! s&ch ambig&ity. Pe%haps it may ha5e been to a5oi! ce%tain homog%aphs fo% %easons simila% to those !isc&sse! fo% shin.<7
33 Cowa&, op! cit., . 3. 3- F. <a&souri, "ocket Ara ic Dictionary, Peri lus Kditio&s, $i&+a ore, 2""!, . !., 33. 32 1&teresti&+l), the letter GdhalH @A i& <oder& $ta&dard 4rabic is &amed G*aH i& the Leba&ese 4rabic al habet a&d is t) icall) read as [z] @b) defaultA or [d] but &e6er [7]. 0his is i&teresti&+ because o&e o&l) &eeds to remo6e the diacritic abo6e dhal to make it dal @A which thus, em hasises the relatio&shi betwee& [d] a&d [z] whe& scri ti&+ the Leba&ese 6er&acular.

13 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

"ette% 1<, mem =m>, appea%s in place of the phonemes [m] an! [n] 6hen j&?tapose! 6ith the eJ&i5alent "ebanese. )nte%estingly, ho6e5e%, mem only seems to appea% in place of the [n] 6hen [n] is p%esent at the en! of a ca%!inal n&mbe%. 2o% e?ample, the n&mbe% fo%ty mobra. Pe%haps, the%efo%e, mem typically %ep%esente! [m] b&t also %ep%esente! [n] 6hen [n] 6as the final so&n! of a ca%!inal n&mbe%. Again, the possible moti5ation behin! s&ch a con5ention may be %elate! to a5oi!ing ce%tain homog%aphs.

is p%ono&nce! =mo%e o% less> [)r&b'n] in "ebanese 6he%e as in Phoenician it is spelt

"ette% 1B, samekh =Z>, 6as a %elati5ely !iffic&lt cha%acte% to !eciphe% beca&se of the %elati5e fe6 specimens !isco5e%e!, only abo&t t6o o% th%ee 6e%e compa%able to an eJ&i5alent "ebanese 6o%!. T%a!itionally, this cha%acte% is belie5e! to stan! fo% the phoneme [s] 6hich seems fitting 6hen one compa%es the "ebanese 6o%! ['-s] 6ith the Phoenician ZH 8 6hich both mean HfeelI. 'o6e5e%, samekh also appea%s to ta@e the place of [z] in the 6o%! H%emembe%I 6hich is p%ono&nce! [z($&k'r] in "ebanese an! is sc%ipte! rkZ, in Phoenician. Mo%e compa%able specimens 6ill be %eJ&i%e! befo%e a fai% !eciphe%ment of same@h can be ma!e. Shin =s> al%ea!y appea%s to a!eJ&ately %ep%esent the phoneme [s], ho6e5e%, samekh may ha5e also been &se! fo% this p&%pose fo% simila% %easons gi5en ea%lie% 8 %ega%!ing homog%aphs. 2&%the%, it 6o&l! seem pla&sible fo% samekh to %ep%esent [z], especially if one consi!e%s that the Phoenicians may ha5e also 6ante! a lette% to %ep%esent emphatic [z] =that is, [z]>, in the same 6ay that tsade %ep%esente! emphatic [s] an! [d] =[s] an! [d], %especti5ely> 6hilst teth %ep%esente! emphatic [t] =that is, [t]>. "ette% 17, pe =p>, appea%s in place of the phonemes [b] an! [0]. T%a!itional !eciphe%ing s&ggests pe %ep%esente! [p] 6hich is pla&sible gi5en its alphabetic position 6hen compa%e! to the alphabets &se! in nea%by c&lt&%es. 2&%the%, it 6o&l! seem logical fo% the Phoenicians to possess the phoneme [p] j&st li@e thei% neighbo&%ing comm&nities ac%oss the Me!ite%%anean L 6hom the Phoenicians often t%a!e! 6ith. <D The appa%ent shift of [p] in Phoenician to [b] in the "ebanese tong&e co&l! be att%ib&te! to the A%abiFation of the "ebanese 5e%nac&la%s 6he%e, in this case, [p] is %en!e%e! as ba' !O 8 phonetically [b]> !&e

to the lac@ of a mo!e%n A%abic lette% fo% [p].<E )n %ega%!s to the phoneme [0], the obse%5ations abo5e s&ggest that pe co&l! ha5e also %ep%esente! this so&n! hence, the sc%ipting of the n&mbe% Hone tho&san!I 8 pla 8 6hich is =typically> p%ono&nce! [)&le)0], in the "ebanese 5e%nac&la%. )f pe simply %ep%esente! only [p] then pla 6o&l! ha5e p%obably been %e8%en!e%e! as PQD instea! of its c&%%ent fo%m, HQF.A0
3. Fischer, op! cit., . 9". 39 0his does &ot mea& that [p] is &e6er ex ressed b) the Leba&ese. 1& fact, the ho&eme [p] is used ofte& b) the Leba&ese for words i&herited from Kuro ea& la&+ua+es but also for some a are&tl) exclusi6e Leba&ese words like [pse'&n($] @catA a&d [l%p&k($] @troubleA. !" 0he critical obser6er ma) also &otice a&other broke& atter& i& the <oder& $ta&dard 4rabic al habet ; this time, where there a ears to be a missi&+ letter i& the set of G5H sha ed letters. 0o elaborate, if o&e rearra&+es the G5H sha ed letters so that each o&e roceeds the other ; i& a fashio& exhibited b) most other letter forms i& 4rabic ; the&

1- The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

"ette% 1E,

oph =q>, t%a!itionally is belie5e! to %ep%esent the phoneme [q] j&st li@e the

eJ&i5alent cha%acte% in $y%iac =q> an! Mo!e%n $tan!a%! A%abic =R>. 'o6e5e%, none of the compa%able "ebanese p%on&nciations s&ppo%te! this claim b&t instea!, s&ggest that the lette% %ep%esente! the phoneme [] =that is, the glottal stop>.A1 A2 (ne may a%g&e that the

[q] in the "ebanese tong&e co&l! ha5e fallen o&t of &se o5e% the cent&%ies b&t s&ch a theo%y 6o&l! seem %athe% poo% gi5en that the "ebanese 6e%e constantly conJ&e%e! by A%amean, A%ab, an! othe% mi!!le easte%n empi%es most of 6hich also feat&%e! [q] in thei% !ialog. $&ch an en5i%onment of [q] p%ono&ncing comm&nities 6o&l! ha5e most li@ely ma!e it easie% fo% the "ebanese to %etain the [q] in thei% speech 8 if they e5e% possesse! it. A mo%e sensible a%g&ment, instea!, 6o&l! be that the "ebanese ne5e% !i! p%ono&nce [q] L not e5en 6hen they 6%ote in Phoenician. Th&s, lette% 1E 6o&l! ha5e most li@ely %ep%esente! the glottal stop =[]>, as s&ppo%te! by the obse%5ations abo5e. #&plicity is also appa%ent fo% lette% 20, resh =r>, 6hich e?hibits the phonemes [r] an! [l]. The latte% case ho6e5e%, 6o&l! most li@ely ha5e been %ese%5e! fo% a5oi!ing ce%tain homog%aphs. As an e?ample, the 6o%! H%ootI is spelt srs in Phoenician an! @LS in the A%abic %en!ition, in "ebanon.A< 'o6e5e%, the "ebanese =typically> p%ono&nce H%ootI as ['-&l'-]. Th&s, if H%ootI 6e%e to be spelt the same 6ay it 6as p%ono&nce! =consonants only> then it 6o&l! loo@ e?actly li@e the ca%!inal n&mbe% Hth%eeI, sls, 6hich 6o&l! be &n!esi%e!. Th&s, resh 6o&l! ha5e typically %ep%esente! the phoneme [r] b&t 6o&l! ha5e
the resulta&t series would be @from ri+ht to leftA= TUAUVUO. 0hus, it becomes a are&t that there is a missi&+ letter @ A betwee& a3 @OA a&d nun @VA a&d +i6e& the ractice of re rese&ti&+ [p] with O, @t) icall) for forei+& words or &ames like Paris, WXYZ[A it ma) be ossible that such a missi&+ letter was used to re rese&t [p] u&til it was made redu&da&t b) 4rab scribes. 0he remo6al of such a h) othetical letter ma) hel ex lai& wh) O, rather tha& \ @as was the case with $)riac, pA, was a&d is used to re rese&t the ho&eme [p] ; besides the ar+ume&t of [b] sou&di&+ similar e&ou+h to [p]. O& the co&trar), o&e ma) obser6e the a licatio& of the letter pe @A to re rese&t [p] for the Persia&, 5rdu a&d @ rior to 192.A 0urkish la&+ua+es. $uch a ractice, howe6er, ca& be ex lai&ed b) realisi&+ that such cultures o&l) ado ted the 4rabic scri t after it had alread) bee& @relati6el)A sta&dardised. 0hus, s eakers of Persia&, 5rdu a&d 0urkish would ha6e bee& more likel) to add &ew letters to the sta&dard 4rabic al habet rather tha& lear& 4rabic9s h) othetical, archaic letter forms ; which robabl) would ha6e alread) bee& for+otte& b) the time of the Ottoma& era. $imilar ar+ume&ts ca& be made for the letter (e # # which is occasio&all) used to re rese&t [2], i& the Leba&ese 6er&aculars. Further, the h) othetical omissio& of letters betwee& ? a&d @ a&d O a&d V raise the Cuestio& as to whether the <oder& $ta&dard 4rabic al habet is a subset of a lar+er al habet. $uch a &otio& would su++est that the al habet of the 4rabs ma) &ot, &ecessaril) be a& 4rab re&ditio& but rather a&other commu&it)9s ; from which the 4rab or Iora&ic scribes ha6e draw& their ow& al habet from. !1 ,ith the exce tio& of the Leba&ese Dru/e commu&it) @$ee= <. Fe+hali, Spoken Le anese, Parkwa) Publishers 1&c., 7C, 1999, . 6i.A. 0his differe&ce betwee& the 6er&aculars of the Leba&ese <aro&ites a&d Leba&ese Dru/e adds credibilit) to the &otio& of the Dru/e commu&it) ori+i&ati&+ from [q] ro&ou&ci&+ 4rabia # from where the) s read to the world 6ia <eso otamia. 4lso, the mai&te&a&ce of [q] i& the 6er&acular of the Leba&ese Dru/e commu&it), ma) be artl) attributed to the obser6a&ce of the Dru/e laws which forbid i&terfaith marria+es a&d rosel)tisatio&. $ee= P.(itti, 90he Ori+i&s of the Dru/e Peo le a&d %eli+io&, For+otte& Books9 i& forgotten ooks!org, 2""2, 1&ter&et, htt =>>www.for+otte&books.or+>i&fo>92.1-"3"-"-.2, @1. <a) 2"1"A. !2 1& &ames, howe6er, the Leba&ese ro&ou&ce the 4rabic 0of as a [k] or a +lottal sto or a 6owel or as a sile&t letter. !3 Ob6iousl) a re#re&ditio& of the Phoe&icia& eCui6ale&t.

12 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

also %ep%esente! [l] 6hen a5oi!ing homog%aphs 6as !esi%able. 2inally, lette% 22 =tau, t> appea%s in place of the phonemes [dt] =6hich mo%e o% less,

ag%ees 6ith t%a!itional 5ie6s> an! [ndt]. The latte% case 6o&l! seem j&stifie! if one consi!e%s the appa%ent p%actice of en!ing a no&n 6ith tau so as to ma@e that no&n feminine.AA As an e?ample, the 6o%! Hlo%!;citiFenI is sc%ipte! as lob 6hilst its feminine fo%m is sc%ipte! tlob. The same p%actice is obse%5e! fo% se5e%al othe% no&ns li@e Hp%iestI 8 nhk 8 an! Hp%iestessI 8 tnhk 8 o% HmanI 8 sa 8 an! H6omanI 8 tsa. Th&s, if the 6o%! fo% HsonI is p%ono&nce! along the lines of [b'-n] 8 spelt nb 8 then it 6o&l! be fai% to a%g&e that the 6o%! fo% H!a&ghte%I 6o&l! ha5e been p%ono&nce! along the lines of [b'-ndt] L as is the case 6ith the "ebanese, to!ay. Th&s, the sc%ipte! 6o%! fo% H!a&ghte%I 8 tb 8 6o&l! ha5e been %ea! as [b'-ndt] 6hich s&ggests the lette% tau =in this case> stoo! fo% [ndt]. Also, if tau 6as &se! to occasionally %ep%esent the so&n! [ndt] then it might also be possible that the sc%ipte! Phoenician 6o%! fo% Hyo&I, ta, co&l! ha5e been p%ono&nce! along the lines of ['-ndt] =o% ['-ndt&dt($] if 5o6els a%e a%bit%a%ily a!!e!> 6hich is ho6 it is p%ono&nce! =mo%e o% less> by the mo!e%n "ebanese. The possible moti5ation behin! this hypothetical !&al nat&%e, li@e ce%tain lette%s !esc%ibe! ea%lie%, may ha5e been the a5oi!ance of ce%tain homog%aphsAB 8 especially 6hen one %ealises that, ce%tain Phoenician =an! "ebanese> 6o%!s a%e ma!e pl&%al by en!ing them 6ith [dt].AC ,efo%e p%og%essing, it is 6o%th commenting that it may also be possible that sc%ipte! Phoenician employe! silent lette%s. 2o% e?ample, the 6o%! fo% HthisI is sc%ipte! as hzh b&t is =typically> p%ono&nce! [he)&de)], by the "ebanese. This s&ggests that the te%minating h is silent, in this pa%tic&la% e?ample. The moti5ation behin! silent lette%s may ha5e been to a5oi! ce%tain homog%aphs fo% simila% %easons !isc&sse! 6hen a!!%essing cha%acte% 21 =shin>. Any, if not all Phoenician lette%s co&l! ha5e been employe! as silent lette%s b&t to p%o5e s&ch a case 6o&l! %eJ&i%e a close% compa%ison bet6een the "ebanese 5e%nac&la%s an! sc%ipte! Phoenician L e5en then it may not be easy to p%o5e gi5en the nat&%al e5ol&tion of lang&age 6hich 6itnesses the coming of ne6 6o%!s an! the fo%getting of ol! 6o%!s. The following analysis is in regards to the physical appearance of certain Phoenician letters. 2i%stly, lette% B =he, h> appea%s to be a g%aphical s&bset of lette% D = heth, H>. )nte%estingly, the p%opose! phonemes fo% each lette% a%e a%g&ably simila% s&ch that, heth =as []> is meant to be an emphatic 5e%sion of he =i.e. [h]>. Th&s, it 6o&l! seem as if heth 6as p&%posely !esigne! so that it %esemble! he b&t appea%e! g%aphically hea5ie% than he so as to emphasise that it is a phonetically st%onge% 5a%iant of he. $imila%ly, lette% 1D =tsade, S> loo@s li@e lette% 21 =shin, s> only 6ith an e?t%a long, left8most st%o@e 6hich e?ten!s !o6n6a%!s. Again, it appea%s as if the g%aphically hea5ie% lette%, tsade, is also a phonetically st%onge% 5a%iant =i.e. [s]>, of shin =fo% the case 6he%e shin %ep%esents [s]>.
!! %awli&so&, op! cit., . 3.!. !3 'ust for the record, tnb @as it is scri tedA has bee& tra&slated as Gow&H. Phoe&icia& scribes, therefore, ma) ha6e wished to reser6e this s elli&+ o&l) for this defi&itio& a&d he&ce, chose t to also re rese&t [ndt] i& tb @i.e. dau+hterA. !- %awli&so&, op! cit., . 3.3.

1. The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

$imila%ly, the emphatic 5e%sion of the the so&n! [dt] =%ep%esente! by tau, t> is appa%ently %ep%esente! by cha%acte% E =teth, T> L 6hich loo@s li@e tau only that it has an e?t%a st%o@e =an enci%cling %ing>. Th&s, it appea%s as if the emphatic so&n!s of the Phoenician lang&age a%e %ep%esente! by lette%s 6hich g%aphically appea% li@e thei% non8emphatic co&nte% pa%ts b&t 6ith an a!!e! st%o@e 9see 2ig&%e B:. "ette% 1B =samekh, Z>, g%aphically appea%s li@e lette% 7 =zayin, z> connecte! to lette% 22 =tau, t> L at the bottom. )f lette% 1B 6as !esigne! in this 6ay on p&%pose then =base! on simila% a%g&ments as abo5e,> it might ha5e been to s&ggest that it %ep%esente! the so&n! [dtz] o% [zdt] 6hich a%g&ably so&n! 5e%y m&ch li@e an emphatic [z] =that is, [z]>. (ne may fai%ly a%g&e, ho6e5e%, a zayin 6ith an e?t%a st%o@e co&l! ha5e easily been employe! to %ep%esent an emphatic [z] L as appea%s to be the case 6ith the p%e5io&sly !isc&sse!4 heth, tsade, an! teth. Also, altho&gh the obse%5ations p%esente! gi5e c%e!it to the t%a!itional 5ie6 that samekh %ep%esente! [s], it may also be 6o%th @no6ing 6hethe% samekh =o% any othe% cha%acte%> also %ep%esente! the phoneme [z] L mainly beca&se it is obse%5e! in the "ebanese 5e%nac&la%s.A7

The ol!est, @no6n insc%iptions 9see Appen!i? 1: of lette%s 1< = mem, m> an! 1A =nun, n> sho6 that mem =a%chaically, M> g%aphically contains the lette% nun =a%chaically, N>. This may e?plain 6hy mem appea%s to sometimes, beha5e as nun =as !esc%ibe! ea%lie%> an! may also in!icate that the Phoenicians %ecognise! [m] an! [n] as belonging to the same class of so&n!s 8 that is, the nasal consonants.AD 2inally, the J&estion as to 6hethe% oph %ep%esente! [q] o% [] might be %esol5e! by consi!e%ing the g%aphical nat&%e of the lette%. Th&s, in light of the g%aphical an! phonetic %elationship !isplaye! by the p%e5io&sly !esc%ibe! lette%s, it 6o&l! ha5e ma!e sense fo% the Phoenicians to !%a6 oph =q> li@e kaph =k> b&t 6ith an e?t%a st%o@e beca&se oph 6as s&ppose!ly a g&tt&%al 5a%iant of kaph.AE )nstea!, t6o 5e%y !iffe%ent cha%acte%s a%e obse%5e! 6hich s&ggests that oph an! kaph !i! not so&n! simila% eno&gh to the Phoenicians. )nte%estingly, the ea%liest insc%iptions of oph e?hibit a 5e%tical st%o@e emanating !o6n6a%! f%om the base of a ci%cle =that is, Q> 6hich =6ith some imagination> %esembles a pe%son stan!ing &p%ight 9see 2ig&%e A:. A!!ing to this, the "ebanese 6o%! fo% Hstan!I =the 5e%b> is [#$0] 6hich is 6hat H ophI 6o&l! so&n! li@e if the [q] 6as %eplace! 6ith a []. Th&s, the o%iginal g%aphical %ep%esentation of oph s&ggests that it co&l! ha5e o%iginally %ep%esente! a pe%son stan!ing &p%ight an! this in t&%n s&ggests that oph %ep%esente! the phoneme [] 8 f%om [#$0] 6hich means Hstan!I.

!2 Fe+hali, op! cit., . 6#x. !. Baker, op! cit., . .". !9 Cowa&, op! cit., . !.

19 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

3i& re .: The Phoenician lette% oph, may ha5e been !e%i5e! f%om the 6o%! Hstan!I 8 [#$0].

2&%the%mo%e, lette% 1C =ayin, o> appea%s to be a g%aphical s&bset of the ea%lie% 5a%iant of lette% 1E =a%chaic oph, Q> 6hich th&s, s&ggests a phonetic %elationship bet6een these t6o lette%s 8 acco%!ing to p%e5io&sly ma!e a%g&ments. Th&s, in light of the p%opose! g%aphical an! phonetical %elationship bet6een the Phoenician lette%s, the final asse%tion of oph as a %ep%esentati5e of the glottal stop comes f%om Pat%ic@ an! -%ight 6ho affi%m the close phonetic %elationship bet6een HhamzaI 8 8 =that is, the glottal stop> an! A%abic ayin 8 =6hich is phonetically the same as the Phoenician ayin>.B0

;8

3" B. Patrick, ,. ,ri+ht, Lectures on the %omparati(e #rammar of the Semitic Languages, *or+ias Press LLC, 7ew 'erse), 2""2, . !!.

2" The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

3i& re 6: +on8emphatic lette%s appea% as g%aphical s&bsets of thei% emphatic;g&tt&%al eJ&i5alents.

)n %esponse to the a%g&ments %ega%!ing oph, abo5e, one may 6on!e% ho6 oph co&l! change f%om [] to [q] 6hen the alphabet 6as sp%ea! to the nea%by [q] p%ono&ncing comm&nities. To ans6e% s&ch a J&estion, one only nee!s to %emembe% ho6 the oman HhI came to %ep%esent a silent lette% in 2%ench an! $panish 6hilst it came to =typically> %ep%esent [h] in English.B1 B2 B< Th&s, it is 5e%y possible that the neighbo&%ing comm&nities of Phoenicia change! the phonetic 5al&e of s&ite! thei% nee!s. oph f%om [] to [q] as it may ha5e bette%

31 K. de $ai&t#<arti&, .rench in 4our "ocket, 7ew (olla&d Publishers, $)d&e), 2""!, . 11. 32 C. Corti&a, Spanish in 56 Lessons, Colli&s Clear#0) e Press, Lo&do&, 192., . 2". 33 Baker, op! cit., . 1!2.

21 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

The following will address the issue of the missing! vowels. 1lassing the Phoenician alphabet as an abja! 6o&l! be an &n!e%statement, gi5en the minimal 5o6el %ep%esentation obse%5e! in the !esc%ibe! %es&lts. /n!e%stan!ing, ho6e5e%, 6hy this minimisation 6as employe! is 5ital if one is to boast abo&t completely &n!e%stan!ing the min! of the alphabet7s c%eato% 8 6ho &n!o&bte!ly &n!e%stoo! the %ole playe! by 5o6els in lang&age, hence, the !elibe%ate minimisation in p%esentation. Pop&la% tho&ght s&ggests minimisation 6as !&e to the inte%est in ta@ing a!5antage of the t%ilite%al %oot nat&%e of the $emitic lang&ages.BA Alte%nati5ely, one may a%g&e that 5o6el minimisation 6as yet anothe% p%ice that nee!e! to be pai! fo% confining the alphabet to 22 lette%s. Altho&gh both mo!es of tho&ght seem c%e!ible, a mo%e pla&sible e?planation may be obtaine! by e?plo%ing the nat&%e of 5o6els in spo@en lang&age. )n e?plo%ing the nat&%e of the spo@en 5o6el, it becomes clea% that fo% any pa%tic&la% 6o%! of a gi5en lang&age, 5o6el p%on&nciation can 5a%y 6hilst consonant p%on&nciation !oes not =gene%ally spea@ing>. This phenomena is implicitly e?emplifie! by the song "et7s 1all the -hole Thing (ff 6hich cont%asts4 [t'-&me'&t)+] 6ith[tu$&m($&t)+] fo% the 6o%! HtomatoI, [b'-&n/&n8$] 6ith [b'-&n)&n)] fo% the 6o%! HbananaI, [i$&7)] 6ith [a'&7)] fo% the 6o%! Heithe%I, an! so on.BB This 5a%iation in p%on&nciation can be obse%5e! by compa%ing the !ialects of 5a%io&s cities, to6ns an! 5illages 6hich all spea@ the same lang&ageBC 8 e5en in a %elati5ely small co&nt%y li@e "ebanon. Th&s, it 6o&l! be fai% to say that, a !ialect can be !isting&ishe! by the analysis of its =spo@en> 5o6els fo% any gi5en 6o%! of a gi5en lang&age. The%efo%e, minimising 5o6el %ep%esentation in sc%ipte! 6o%!s, minimises the hallma%@s of a comm&nities !ialect on the sc%ipte! 6o%!s an! this in t&%n, %es&lts in a !ialect f%ee system of 6%iting. A !ialect f%ee system of 6%iting ele5ates no comm&nity7s !ialect highe% than the !ialect of any othe% comm&nity an! th&s, implicitly p%omotes the !ignity an! eJ&ality of all =spo@en> !ialects.B7 This h&mble i!eology may ha5e been the g%eatest moti5ato% fo% 5o6el minimisation an! if fo&n! to be t%&e, highlights yet anothe% belief of the alphabet7s in5ento% an!;o% his;he% clients 8 the Phoenician people.

"iscussion
The obse%5e! %es&lts, as !esc%ibe! p%e5io&sly, clea%ly s&ggest that se5e%al Phoenician lette%s %ep%esente! mo%e than one phoneme. Mo%e inte%estingly, as 6ell, 6as the st%ong co%%elation bet6een the Phoenician lette%s 6hich e?hibite! phonetic ambig&ity an! the eJ&i5alent mo!e%n A%abic lette%s. This co%%elation i!entifies e?actly 6hy se5e%al A%abic lette%s loo@ the same, sa5e fo% the e?t%a !iac%itic=s> 6hich specify e?actly 6hich phoneme sho&l! be p%ono&nce!. 2&%the%, these fin!ings !isc%e!it the pop&la% belief 6hich ass&mes the Ma%onites of the "ebanon mo&ntains spea@ a !ialect of A%abic beca&se thei% mo!e%n 5e%nac&la% feat&%es mo%e than the 22 phonemes s&ppose!ly allo6e! by the Phoenician alphabet.BD Mo%eo5e%, this pop&la% ass&mption al6ays appea%e! fla6e! beca&se of its fail&%e to e?plain 6hy the "ebanese 5e%nac&la% s&ppose!ly inhe%ite! f%om A%abic, the phonemes4 [,], [d], [z], an! [.] b&t then !i! not inhe%it f%om A%abic, the phonemes4 [6],
3! %awli&so&, op! cit., 9Cha ter 111 ; 0he Peo le ; Ori+i& a&d Characteristics9, 1&ter&et. 33 F. 4staire, 9Let9s Call the ,hole 0hi&+ Off9 i& 'omantic Lo(e Songs Lyrics, 2"1", 1&ter&et, htt =>>www.theroma&tic.com>lo6eso&+s>letscallthewholethi&+off.htm, @12 <a) 2"1"A. 3- 0he word GdialectH is used loosel) here, due to its i&co&siste&t defi&itio&. 32 4 disti&ctio& betwee& s oke& a&d literar) GdialectsH is made here because literar) 4rabic a&d (ebrew ca& also exhibit a dialect whe& ri&ted with 6owel oi&ts. 3. <a&souri, op! cit., . i6.

22 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

[7], an! [q]. This ass&mption also fails to e?plain ho6 the "ebanese obtaine! the phonemes4 [*], [g], [2] an! [p] 8 6hich !o not appea% in M$A 9see Table < o% Appen!i? #:. 'ence, a mo%e pla&sible e?planation 6o&l! be that, the phonics of the "ebanese 5e%nac&la% ha5e not been la%gely infl&ence! by A%abic 8 o% any othe% lang&age, fo% that matte%. )nstea!, the phonics of the "ebanese 8 in pa%tic&la%, the Ma%onites of the "ebanon mo&ntains 8 ha5e s&%5i5e! f%om the ea%liest of %eco%!e! time 8 if not ea%lie%.
Table 5: EJ&i5alent Phoenician an! A%abic lette%s base! on the %es&lts p%esente! =ea%lie%>.

Phoenician a b g d h w z H T y k l m n Z o p S q r s t

Arabic !MSA" Arabic !]Lebane%e^"

CU_UBU`UFUGUD O
n;a

b c B dUb :U9 f C g h VUi V ? <U; \ >U= E hUY AU@U? kKUA

CU_UBU`UFUGUD O a b c B dUeUb :U9 f C g h VUi V jU? <U; \UO >U= RUE hUY @U?UTUA kKUA

23 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

1onseJ&ently, the %es&lts !esc%ibe! p%e5io&sly ma@e necessa%y the %ee5al&ation of the possible p%on&nciation of the 5a%io&s @no6n =sc%ipte!> Phoenician 6o%!s. (ne implication of this %ee5al&ation 6o&l! be the %eassessing of the o%igins of the mo!e%n A%abic lang&age. To !emonst%ate, the %es&lts !esc%ibe! ea%lie% s&ggest, the 6o%! fo% Hea%thI 8 Sra 8 can no6 be p%ono&nce! [($&red] in Phoenician 6hich is =mo%e o% less> the same as in A%abic 8 >YF. This s&ggests both A%abic an! Phoenician inhe%ite! this pa%tic&la% 6o%! f%om a common ancesto% o% that, mo!e%n A%abic inhe%ite! this 6o%! f%om the ol!e% Phoenician 8 pe%haps 5ia a 'eb%e6 o% +abataean inte%me!ia%y. ega%!less of ho6 eithe% lang&age came to obtain this an! many othe% common 6o%!s, the A%abic %en!ition of the sc%ipte! 6o%! is &n!o&bte!ly !e%i5e! f%om the Phoenician 8 the only !iffe%ences being the font =ob5io&sly> an! the !iac%itics a!!e! to the A%abic 5e%sion 9see 2ig&%e C:.BE Th&s, it 6o&l! be fai% to a%g&e that, the mo!e%n A%abic 5ocab&la%y is pa%tly inhe%ite! f%om ol!e% $emitic lang&ages an! these common 6o%!s a%e gene%ally sc%ipte! in the same 6ay only that the A%ab %en!ition a!!s !iac%itics to specify e?act p%on&nciation.

3i& re ,: Many HA%abicI 6o%!s a%e sc%ipte! e?actly li@e thei% Phoenician eJ&i5alents, sa5e fo% the4 font, !iac%itics, an! =te%minating> ta'-marbuta =l>.

39 0he 6er) moti6atio& for addi&+ diacritics i& 4rabic, ma) ha6e come from the wa&ti&+ to reser6e the GcorrectH ro&u&ciatio& of the 6erses of the Iora& a&d>or from the Iora&ic reBectio& of dualit), tri licit), or a&) other ol)t) ical &ature as em hasised b) $ura != 12"#121 G... do &ot sa) G0ri&it).H $to sa)i&+ that ...H. $ee= F. <alik, 90he Our9a& i& K&+lish 0ra&slatio& Com lete9 i& +idEastWe , 4u+ust 2""2, 1&ter&et, htt =>>www.mideastweb.or+>mew#Cura&. df, @1. <a) 2"1"A.

2! The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

#onclusion
)n concl&sion, the Phoenician alphabet 6as not simply an alphabet 6ith a one8to8one, lette% to phoneme %elationship. )nstea!, the Phoenician alphabet 6as a simple !e5ice 6ith a %elati5ely sophisticate! nat&%e in the sense that it &tilise! lette%s 6ith a polytypical nat&%e 6hilst at the same time, con5eye! to the 6o%l! the beliefs of the alphabet7s c%eato%.

Ideas for $elated% &uture Pro'ects

The follo6ing aims a%e an in5itation to c&%%ent an! 6o&l! be %esea%che%s of Phoenician, "ebanese an! othe% mi!!le easte%n st&!ies. 1. 2in! the 6o%! o%igins of the mo!e%n A%abic 5ocab&la%y then !ete%mine 6hat pe%centage is inhe%ite! f%om Phoenician, 'eb%e6, +abataean, ancient A%abic, etc. 2. 2in! the 6o%! o%igins of the 5a%io&s "ebanese 5e%nac&la%s then !ete%mine 6hat pe%centage is inhe%ite! f%om Phoenician, 'eb%e6, /ga%itic, A%amaic, A%abic, 3%ee@, "atin, T&%@ish, 2%ench, English, etc. <. eassess mo!e%n 'eb%e6 =also @no6n as )s%aeli>, in light of the fin!ings of this pape% 8 especially gi5en the c%iticisms against mo!e%n 'eb%e6 fo% ha5ing lost m&ch of its $emitic essence.C0 A. 1hallenge the pop&la% belief 6hich ass&mes e5e%ybo!y in the Mi!!le East spea@s A%abic 8 especially gi5en that, to as@ the J&estion H#o yo& spea@ EnglishSI, one 6o&l! =typically> say4 [b'-dt&dt'-&k) e)n&gl'&z)9] in "ebanon, b&t then =typically> say [b'&dt'&dte)&k%l&l%m e)n&g'&l'&z'&j)9] in Egypt, b&t then =typically> say [h%l t)&t)&%d&d%6 %l 'n&d*'&l'&z'&j)9] =p%obably> in the g&lf, [t't&k/l&l/m 'n&g'&li$&z'9] in )%aJ, an! [h%l dt)&dt)&k%l&l)m )l 'n&d*li$&z'&j)9] in Mo!e%n $tan!a%! A%abic, [w/ k/t&r)0 n/g&l'&z'&j/9] in Mo%occo.C1 C2 C< CA CB The simple an! pop&la% a%g&ment of att%ib&ting s&ch !iffe%ences to an HA%abic !ialectI can be challenge! by consi!e%ing ho6 one 6o&l! p%ono&nce the J&estion, H#o yo& spea@ A%abicSI in the English spea@ing 6o%l!. 2o% e?ample, in A&st%alia one 6o&l! =typically> as@ [du$ ju$ spi$k /&:)&b'k9], in Englan! =typically> [d+) j+) sp'k )&:)&bek9], in the /$ =typically>
-" *. Puckerma&&, 94bba, ,h) was Professor (i++i&s 0r)i&+ to 0each Kli/a to $ eak Like Our Clea&i&+ Lad)E= <i/rahim, 4shke&a/im, Prescri ti6ism a&d the %eal $ou&ds of the 1sraeli La&+ua+e9 i& #hil3ad 7uckermann8 Associate "rofessor, 2""3, 1&ter&et, htt =>>www./uckerma&&.or+> df>abba. df, @1. <a) 2"1"A. -1 $. 'e&ki&s, K+) tia& Ara ic "hrase ook, Lo&el) Pla&et Publicatio&s Pt) Ltd, Fictoria, 2""1, . 11. -2 9(ear 4rabic $ur6i6al Phrases9 i& Transparent Language, 2"1", 1&ter&et, htt =>>www.tra&s are&t.com>lear&# arabic> hrases.html, @1. <a) 2"1"A. -3 D. Di<eo, Ara ic for Dummies Audio Set, ,ile) Publishi&+, 1&c., 7ew 'erse), 2""., . 1.. -! 8. 4lkalesi, &ra0i "hrase ook, <c*raw (ill, $)d&e), 2""!, . 23. -3 B. 4&dBar, D. Baco&, 4. Be&chehda, +oroccan Ara ic "hrase ook, Lo&el) Pla&et Publicatio&s Pt) Ltd, Fictoria, 1999, . !1.

23 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

[d+)w j+)w spi$k /&:8$&b'k9], in =typical, English spea@ing> )n!ia [d+ j+ p'k )&;)&b'k9].CC B. 1hallenge the pop&la% belief 6hich ass&mes e5e%ybo!y in the Mi!!le East spo@e A%amaic o% $y%iac befo%e the A%ab conJ&est. Ass&ming all Mi!!le Easte%ne%s spo@e A%amaic beca&se of an A%amean o% Assy%ian conJ&est is no !iffe%ent to ass&ming that all Mi!!le Easte%ne%s =sa5e fo% )s%aeli Je6s> spea@ A%abic to!ay !&e to the A%ab;)slamic conJ&est. C. $tan!a%!ise the !efinitions of lang&age, !ialect, an! accent. 7. E?plain 6hy it is pla&sible to say e5e%ybo!y =e?cl&!ing )s%aeli Je6s> f%om Mo%occo to )%aJ, incl&si5e, spea@s a !ialect of A%abic 8 e5en if the !ialects a%e &nintelligible f%om each othe%. Also, e?plain 6hy it is pla&sible to classify the omance lang&ages as lang&ages in thei% o6n %ight %athe% than !ialects of "atin an! then e?plain 6hy s&ch a classification is not a !o&ble stan!a%! 6hen compa%e! to the H!ialects of the A%abic spea@ing 6o%l!I. D. eassess the possible phonics of the /ga%itic lang&age, in light of this pape% 8 especially gi5en /ga%it 6as Phoenicia7s neighbo&% to the no%th. E. eassess the possible phonics of the ancient 'eb%e6 lang&age, in light of this pape% 8 especially gi5en ancient )s%ael 6as Phoenicia7s neighbo&% to the so&th. 10. Attempt to !eciphe% the ,yblos $yllaba%y, gi5en the fin!ings of this pape%. 11. eassess the lin@ bet6een Egyptian hie%oglyphics an! the Phoenician alphabet, in light of this pape%.

-- P. (e++art), ,. <a+uire, 4. <c<aho&, 94cce&ts of K&+lish from 4rou&d the ,orld9 i& 0he 5&i6ersit) of Kdi&bur+h, 2""2, 1&ter&et, htt =>>www.sou&dcom ariso&s.com>, @22 <a) 2"1"A.

2- The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

Appendi( A
T6enty8T6o lette% alphabets of the ancient, +o%th $emitic an! neighbo&%ing %egions. mebren

$. Age%, 7'eb%e67 in .mniglot /riting Systems and Languages of the /orld, 1EED, )nte%net, http4;;666.omniglot.com;6%iting;heb%e6.htm, =22 May 2010>.

Ancient Greeo !Cretan"

$. Age%, 7Ancient 3%ee@ alphabet7 in .mniglot /riting Systems and Languages of the /orld, 1EED, )nte%net, http4;;666.omniglot.com;6%iting;g%ee@.htm, =22 May 2010>.

22 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

Nabataean

$. Age%, 7+abataean abja!7 in .mniglot /riting Systems and Languages of the /orld, 1EED, )nte%net, http4;;666.omniglot.com;6%iting;nabataean.htm, =22 May 2010>.

Parthian

$. Age%, 7Pa%thian sc%ipt7 in .mniglot /riting Systems and Languages of the /orld, 1EED, )nte%net,http4;;666.omniglot.com;6%iting;pa%thian.htm, =22 May 2010>.

Samaritan

$. Age%, 7$ama%itan alphabet7 in .mniglot /riting Systems and Languages of the /orld, 1EED, )nte%net,http4;;666.omniglot.com;6%iting;sama%itan.htm, =22 May 2010>.

2. The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

Syriac !E%tran&elo"

$. Age%, 7$y%iac sc%ipt7 in .mniglot /riting Systems and Languages of the /orld, 1EED, )nte%net,http4;;666.omniglot.com;6%iting;sy%iac.htm, =22 May 2010>.

Syriac !Ne%torian"

$. Age%, 7$y%iac sc%ipt7 in .mniglot /riting Systems and Languages of the /orld, 1EED, )nte%net,http4;;666.omniglot.com;6%iting;sy%iac.htm, =22 May 2010>.

29 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

Syriac !Serto"

$. Age%, 7$y%iac sc%ipt7 in .mniglot /riting Systems and Languages of the /orld, 1EED, )nte%net,http4;;666.omniglot.com;6%iting;sy%iac.htm, =22 May 2010>.

3" The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

Appendi( )
The International Phonetic Alphabet
Ta@en f%om4 $. Age%, 7English7 in .mniglot /riting Systems and Languages of the /orld, 1EED, )nte%net, http4;;666.omniglot.com;6%iting; english.htm, =22 May 2010>.

31 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

32 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

En&li%h in IPA

pey: AmE T Ame%ican English =3ene%al Ame%ican>, A&E T A&st%alian English, ,%E T ,%itish English = P>, 1aE T 1ana!ian English, )%E T )%ish English, +UE T +e6 Uealan! English, $AE T $o&th Af%ican English, $cE T $cottish English, -eE T -elsh English

33 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

3! The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

Appendi( #
The e5ol&tion of the Phoenician alphabet.

Ta@en f%om4 #. =,enjamin> 'a%!en, The Phoenicians, Thames an! '&!son, "on!on, 1EC2, p. 117.

33 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

Appendi( "
The Mo4ern Stan4ar4 Arabic Alphabet Letter Name Glyph Val e !IPA" alif ba' ta' tha' (im ha' kha' dal dhal ra' zay sin shin sad dad ta' za' 'ayn ghayn fa' af kaf lam mim nun ha' waw ya

D O A T a 9 : b e Y d ? @ = > f j ; < \ R g h i V c B C

[($] [b] [t] [6] [d*] [] [,] [d] [7] [r] [z] [s] [] [s] [d] [t] [z] [] [.] [0] [q] [k] [l] [m] [n] [h] [w] [j]
A!apte! f%om 1o6an, pp. 18A.

N$q$ The follo6ing so&n!s =f%om abo5e> !o not occ&% in English4 []<emphatic =h=> [,]<2oiceless 2elar 0ricati2e []<guttural stop> [.]< 2oiced 2elar 0ricati2e ?like a gargling soundA> [q]<guttural =k=3

?similar to @erman ="ch=A> [r]<Brolling rC> [s] emphatic =s=> [d]<emphatic =d=> [t]<emphatic =t=> [z]<emphatic =z=>

3- The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

The ]Lebane%e Arabic^ Alphabet Letter Name Glyph Val e !IPA" aleph bea tea sea zhin hea khea da za rea zayne sin shin sod dod tah zah 'ayn ghayn fea oph kaf lam mim nun hea waw lam-aleph yea

D O A T a 9 : b e Y d ? @ = > f j ; < \ R g h i V c B r C

[e)] [b]> [p] [dt] [s]> [dt] [*] [] [,] [d] [z]> [d] [r] [z] [s]> [] []> [s] [s] [d] [dt] [z] [] [.] [0]> [2] []> [k] [k]> [g] [l] [m] [n] [h] [w] [l)] [j]

32 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

Connectin& Arabic Letter%

=A!apte! f%om 1o6an, pp. 182.>

3. The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

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39 The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

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!" The Phoenician Alphabet Reassessed in Light of its Descendant Scripts and the Language of the Modern Lebanese

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9$a%cophage !7Eshmo&naFa% ))7 in >?8S2. B Memory of the /orld. +o5embe% 200C. )nte%net,

http4;;po%tal.&nesco.o%g;ci;en;e5.php8 / "Y)#T1CEAEV/ "Y#(T#(YT(P)1V/ "Y$E1T)(+T201.html. =21 May 2010>.